Rosebank Goldside
Glasses
1969 (made)
1969 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The eyewear firm Oliver Goldsmith created this glasses frame, titled ‘Rosebank Goldside’, in 1969. Philip Oliver Goldsmith, a salesman for a small optical firm, founded his eyewear company in London in 1926. In 1935 his son Charles Goldsmith entered the firm with the aim of transforming glasses from a medical necessity to a fashion item. From the company’s offices in Poland Street, his sons A. Oliver and Ray Goldsmith built upon the company’s reputation for attention-grabbing designs and solicited celebrity endorsement for their products. Key clients included Lord Snowdon, the actor Diana Dors, Princess Grace of Monaco and Diana, Princess of Wales.
Oliver Goldsmith did business in South Africa, prompting them to name this frame after the Rosebank suburb of Johannesburg. A. Oliver Goldsmith designed this frame at a time when materials were cut and shaped by hand in the company workshop. The frame’s gold metal trimming came from Italy. The lyre shaped trim was made exclusively for Oliver Goldsmith, who offered this distinctive style in dozens of colours.
Oliver Goldsmith did business in South Africa, prompting them to name this frame after the Rosebank suburb of Johannesburg. A. Oliver Goldsmith designed this frame at a time when materials were cut and shaped by hand in the company workshop. The frame’s gold metal trimming came from Italy. The lyre shaped trim was made exclusively for Oliver Goldsmith, who offered this distinctive style in dozens of colours.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Rosebank Goldside (manufacturer's title) |
| Materials and techniques | Plastic, acetate with gold-plated front trim and aluminium sides |
| Brief description | Square fleck plastic spectacle frames 'Rosebank Goldside', made by Oliver Goldsmith, Great Britain, 1969 |
| Physical description | Square brown fleck plastic spectacle frames with softened corners. Acetate and metal. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Given by A. Oliver Goldsmith, in memory of his father, Charles Oliver Goldsmith |
| Object history | Registered File number 1990/200. These glasses form part of a design archive of the British eyewear company Oliver Goldsmith. The archive, which consists of approximately 70 glasses frames from the 1930s to the late 1980s, was donated by A. Oliver Goldsmith, grandson of the founder, and former chief designer at the firm. A. Oliver Goldsmith donated the material to the V & A in memory of his father Charles Goldsmith. |
| Summary | The eyewear firm Oliver Goldsmith created this glasses frame, titled ‘Rosebank Goldside’, in 1969. Philip Oliver Goldsmith, a salesman for a small optical firm, founded his eyewear company in London in 1926. In 1935 his son Charles Goldsmith entered the firm with the aim of transforming glasses from a medical necessity to a fashion item. From the company’s offices in Poland Street, his sons A. Oliver and Ray Goldsmith built upon the company’s reputation for attention-grabbing designs and solicited celebrity endorsement for their products. Key clients included Lord Snowdon, the actor Diana Dors, Princess Grace of Monaco and Diana, Princess of Wales. Oliver Goldsmith did business in South Africa, prompting them to name this frame after the Rosebank suburb of Johannesburg. A. Oliver Goldsmith designed this frame at a time when materials were cut and shaped by hand in the company workshop. The frame’s gold metal trimming came from Italy. The lyre shaped trim was made exclusively for Oliver Goldsmith, who offered this distinctive style in dozens of colours. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.244I-1990 |
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| Record created | December 8, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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